Illinois Tech Lewis College of Science and Letters

Looking to take your career to the next level? Applications for Illinois Tech’s fall 2024 graduate programs close on August 5. Don’t miss out! *Deadline is for domestic students*

You need only three things to start your application:

✍🏼Official Transcripts

✍🏼Resume/CV

✍🏼Personal Statement

The clock is ticking! Apply now: https://bit.ly/3W8pwq6

On June 22, Professor of Digital Humanities and Media Studies Carly Kocurek and the game design and experiential media (GEM) program highlighted what the program has to offer at the Gamer's Universe Convention. Attendees engaged in play testing while Jorge Anzaldo (GEM ’25) presented "The Greek American Odyssey," a game developed for the National Hellenic Museum.

We were excited to show gamer lovers and enthusiasts the innovative and educational experiences our program provides! Explore what GEM has to offer💫: https://bit.ly/48NW7Wo

Our online Health Physics (PHYS 550) class joined us on campus for a hands-on Radiation Instrumentation Laboratory this past month. Students prepared and counted small radioactive samples using various analytical equipment, gaining invaluable practical experience. We enjoyed having them on campus for this interactive learning session.

Think you know your history? Before merging with the Armour Institute in 1940, Illinois Tech was originally the “Lewis Institute,” a school founded in 1895 by Allen C. Lewis.

The merger combined the strengths of both institutions, fostering innovation and excellence in education, and setting the stage for Illinois Tech to become a leading university in science, engineering, humanities, architecture, business, and law.

Want more Lewis lore? Learn more of our history: https://bit.ly/3L0wSWm

Wondering what our faculty does over the summer? Associate Dean and Professor of Digital Humanities and Media Studies Carly A. Kocurek moderated at the Chicago Humanities Festival and the American Writer’s Festival.

At both festivals Carly’s expertise drove insightful conversations with industry experts. At ChiHumanities she explored Experiential Game Design with Caro Murphy. At the American Writers Festival, she discussed gaming narratives and representation within gaming communities with Keith Ammann, Derek Tyler Attico, Keisha Howard, and Samantha Ortiz.

Stay tuned as Carly continues her summer journey at the gaming convention, Gamer’s Universe! 🎮

Game designer Michael Anthony DeAnda, Ph.D. Technology and Humanities ’19, is changing the game by centering LGBTQ+ experiences in his designs!

A trailblazer in q***r theory gaming, Michael empowers players to explore gender and sexuality through safe gaming spaces. During the pandemic, he created "Golden Market," a single-player tabletop RPG, to meet this need.

By infusing game design with deliberate perspective, he aims to inspire real-world change. Step into his reality: https://bit.ly/3x4IeW4

🎮 Calling all gamers! Our Game Design and Experiential Media program will be tabling at the Gamer's Universe Convention June 22nd, exhibiting some of our student's games.

Join us and discover fresh games, enter in gaming tournaments, compete in the cosplay competition and learn more about our program and the world of gaming!

Mark your calendars! For more details: https://chipublib.bibliocommons.com/events/660adedb65c40592cbfa19b3

Have a knack for boosting productivity and creating healthy and engaging work environments? A career in industrial-organizational psychology could be your perfect fit!

This high-paying and rapidly growing field offers a high payout of personal satisfaction and significant financial benefits. Set yourself apart with our specialized degree and make a real impact in organizational settings

Elevate your career, while making a difference. 🚀: https://bit.ly/3X3krAj

We help turn dreams into reality! Jonte Williams, an astrophysics student with a scholarship, joined the Hyperloop team (a student organization working to develop a high-speed transportation pod) to explore engineering. His journey from childhood dreams to hands-on project development shows how with the proper support, aspirations can become achievements.

Watch Jonte’s dreams unfold 🚀: https://bit.ly/3KrzT1u

Astrophysics Student Jonte Williams Expands His Scope TRANSCRIPTJonte Williams (ASPY/PHYS 4th Year): I first came here as an astrophysicist, you know, that’s what I applied to IIT for.

Assistant Professor Weikang Ma is searching for ways to protect the heart against inherited cardiac diseases. His innovative approach and dedication is making a huge impact. In Dec 2023, he received a $2 million grant from NIH to fund his research on muscle contraction in the heart.

“My work is already benefiting patients right now…I feel really, really good that I’m part of this history to develop these drugs.”

Getting to the Heart of the Problem: New Research Aims to Understand Cardiac Conditions When it comes to keeping hearts pumping, Illinois Institute of Technology Research Assistant Professor

The Chicago Humanities day at Illinois Tech was flowing with community, passionate speakers, innovative programs, and interactive art. We cannot thank Chicago Humanities Festival, enough for the opportunity to host such an impactful event.

Missed it? Rediscover Chihumanities at Illinois Tech: https://bit.ly/454p0MI

Speakers / Artists featured:
Caro Murphy
Walter Hood
John Maeda
Marina Abramović
JB Daniel
Ijeoma Oluo
Hebru Brantley
Ruha Benjamin

In a world filled with chemistry, Jackie Trejo (B.S. CHEM 2nd Year) is dedicated to intertwining Illinois Tech’s chemistry club with the community.

“We want to build a community for chemistry students so we can rely on each other and have a network to turn to,” she says.

The club successfully held six events during the spring 2024 semester and is planning a career fair in the fall, aiming to expand their growing community. It's an event you don't want to miss.

Join the community! Follow them on Instagram to stay updated on their future initiatives: https://bit.ly/3WTsAXY

Ashley Aguilar (PSYC ’21, M.S. IPSY ’23) has already made a name for herself as a leadership expert in the world of industrial/organizational psychology.

While at S. C. Johnson, Aguilar and her team created Global Leadership 360, a tool used to assess and develop the leadership skills of employees throughout the company.

“Our goal was to ensure that all employees, regardless of their position, had the opportunity to receive feedback to enhance their leadership capabilities.”—Ashley Aguilar (PSYC ’21, M.S. IPSY ’23)

Read more on Aguilar’s success: https://bit.ly/3QZGrbp

Big congratulations to our Lewis grads! 🎓 We're bursting with pride for your incredible journey of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. You've reached this moment, and it's all yours to celebrate! 🎉

How soon could your car be powered by nothing more than water? 💧 It might be sooner than you think, thanks to a groundbreaking new fuel cell catalyst developed by Assistant Professor Sameh Elsaidi and Research Assistant Professor Mona Mohamed, published in their March 2024 paper titled, “Tri-Metallic Catalyst for Oxygen Evolution Reaction Enables Continuous Operation of Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer at 1A cm−2 for Hundreds of Hours.”

Learn more about their findings:

Goodbye Gasoline, Hello Water Running a vehicle on water—not gas—sounds like an idea pulled straight from of fiction.

Congrats to the winners of our 59th Annual Writing Contest! We were highly impressed with the work submitted. It was truly inspiring to see how talent our Illinois Tech students are. However, we would like to personally recognize the talented writers in our Lewis community!📚✍🏼

EDWIN H. LEWIS PRIZE FOR NONFICTION
1st: Lily Decator Smith (Digital Humanities, 3rd year), “A Computational Investigation of Rhetorical Strategies in Won vs. Lost Defamation Cases”

EDWIN H. LEWIS PRIZE FOR FICTION
1st: Angela Petrone (Digital Humanities, 4th year), “Lost and Found”
3rd: Julia King (Global Studies, 2nd year), “Pitch of the Dead”

MOLLIE COHEN PRIZE FOR POETRY
2nd: Vincent Ross (Food Science and Nutrition, 1st year), “Cost”

Prepare for an incredible celebration on May 11, at 2 p.m. CDT! 🎓 Come join us at Credit Union 1 Arena as we honor the accomplishments of our 2024 graduates! Unable to make it in person? No worries—simply tune in to our livestream and experience the festivities from wherever you may be! https://bit.ly/3UnhQOE

On May 18th, immerse yourself in the rich culture of Bronzeville with Illinois Tech and Chicago Humanities at our Mies Campus. Prepare for a day filled with enlightening programs, captivating speakers, and hands-on exhibits, all against the backdrop of Mies van der Rohe's architectural masterpieces. Don't let this chance slip away to encounter innovation and heritage on a single remarkable day!
Speakers include:
Hebru Brantley / Hebru Brand
Caro Murphy
Ruha Benjamin
John Maeda
Ijeoma Oluo
and many more!

RSVP now: https://bit.ly/3UG98MM

🎓 2024 Lewis Graduate Claire Zwicker (PHYS, ASTR ’23) wants to dedicate her life to solving the world's many wonders, choosing astrophysics because she “find[s] the questions in astronomy and physics to be very interesting to probe and answer.”

Her research on binary stars in star clusters has been published in prestigious journals and earned her recognition from the American Astronomical Society.

Want to learn more about her fascinating discoveries and how she's using cutting-edge technology to peer into the universe's secrets?

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/3Qp6Grl

We are honored to announce our 2024 Faculty Teaching Awards winners!

🏆 Bauer Family Undergraduate Teaching Award:
Keith Green, Lewis College of Science and Letters

🏆 The Center for Learning Innovation Digital Teaching Innovation Award:
Hannah Ringler, Lewis College of Science and Letters

🏆 College Teaching Award:
Lindsay Sheehan, Lewis College of Science and Letters

🏆 Sigma Xi/Illinois Tech Awards for Excellence in Research—Junior Faculty Award:
Weikang Ma, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biology

We take great pride in our faculty's outstanding achievements and commitment to teaching excellence. Congratulations to all the awardees—your dedication and hard work have truly made this year a success! 🎉

For more on our winners: https://bit.ly/3wh2V0i

Big news at Lewis! 🎉

We are thrilled to announce the official establishment of the Center for Health Equity Education and Research (CHEER) as a university research center in March 2024. For Distinguished Professor of Psychology Patrick Corrigan and Assistant Professor of Pyschology Lindsay Sheehan, the creation of this center represents years of work come to fruition.

CHEER aims to improve mental health care access through community engagement. The center is composed of five impactful programs, each addressing different aspects of health care disparities and access. From the Chicago Health Disparities Center, the National Consortium of Stigma and Empowerment, the Honest, Open, Proud program, Stigma and Health, and the Certificate for Recovery Support Specialist, CHEER is dedicated to promoting health equity.

The team includes more than a dozen Illinois Tech Department of Psychology faculty members serving as senior researchers. With funding exceeding $4 million for 2024, CHEER collaborates with institutions across Chicago and beyond. Our goal is clear: to improve mental health care access for all through increased community engagement.

Join us in this important initiative! https://bit.ly/3JAg9sd

A Community to Help: New Research Center to Tackle Health Care Disparities The idea for the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) has existed in t

Save the Date! We are thrilled to announce the Illinois Tech 155th Commencement ceremony taking place on May 11th at Credit 1 Union Arena. Join us in celebrating this occasion and the promising futures awaiting our graduates. Don't forget to mark your calendars! 🗓️ 🎓

For more information about commencement: https://www.iit.edu/commencement

Join us in celebrating the arrival of three phenomenal department chairs to the Lewis faculty! Lei Li in Biology, Pavel Snopok in Physics, and Saran Ghatak in Social Sciences bring with them a wide range of experience and ambition for advancing education and research. We are glad to have them on board and look forward to the growth and innovation they will inspire within our programs. Welcome, Lei, Pavel, and Saran! Read more:

Lewis College Welcomes Three New Chairs Lewis College of Science and Letters at Illinois Institute of Technology welcomed three new department chairs to their faculty at the beginning of the 2023–24 academic year.

As artificial intelligence continues to expand within our society, how do artists protect their creative intellectual property?

Join Lewis College of Science and Letters’ Dean Jennifer deWinter on Saturday, April 13 as she joins The Verge AI reporter Emilia David and artist Kelly McKernan for a conversation on how AI impacts the art world.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3TVjnMV

The Verge AI Sessions: Art Creator or Thief? Protecting artistic ownership and intellectual property

Join us in congratulating Associate Professor Yuri Mansury, who has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar Award by the and to conduct field work in Central Java 🎉!

The Fulbright research aims to assist Javanese farmers with implementing more sustainable farming practices while examining the connection between deforestation and social equity. Deforestation in Indonesia is a problem that destabilizes the environment and amplifies social inequalities.

Mansury’s work will include using quantitative analyses and interviews to examine how attitudes and poverty affect livelihood choices, aiming to help establish a cohesive strategy for sustainable development.

We're excited to announce that over two dozen of our esteemed faculty members, led by Distinguished Professor of Psychology Patrick Corrigan, have been recognized in Stanford University’s 2023 rankings as the top 2% of most-cited researchers across 22 fields! Their pioneering work, spanning mental health access, stigma, and inclusion, is making waves globally.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3vqH1HN

Psychology Professor Ranks Among Top-Cited Scientists More than two dozen members of Illinois Institute of Technology’s faculty, led by Distinguished Professor of Psychology

📆 Save the date: March 28th, 12:45-1:45 p.m. (CST) on Zoom.

Join us for a seminar featuring Suresh Pillai, the director of Texas A&M University’s National Center for Electron Beam Research. Discover the truth behind Electron Beam Food Pasteurization and its potential to transform the global food industry. 🍴

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4aiSVCd

Ever wondered if your heart could hit the gym? 🫀🏋️‍♂️

Meet Weikang Ma, research assistant professor at Illinois Institute of Technology turning that curiosity into reality! From pages of PNAS to a $2M National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, he's on a mission to decode the heart's language with Mavacamten. Brace yourself for a heart-pumping journey into the science of strength, where every beat counts!

More: https://bit.ly/49L7Bd0

Getting to the Heart of the Problem: New Research Aims to Understand Cardiac Conditions When it comes to keeping hearts pumping, Illinois Institute of Technology Research Assistant Professor

Ready, set, write! ✍️The Department of Humanities is accepting submissions for its 59th annual writing contest. All full-time Illinois Tech undergraduate students are invited to submit original pieces of fiction, poetry, plays, nonfiction, and philosophical analysis.

All submissions due by March 6, 2024 by 11:59 p.m.

More info and contest form here: https://bit.ly/3SNTPiU